To the Editor:
In regards to “E-Mails Reveal Federal Reach Over Reading” (Feb. 21, 2007):
The Bush administration has empowered U.S. Department of Education appointees to make decisions based on their personal preferences, suppress reports and research they do not agree with, and all but make up their own standards, while initiating consequences to those who disagree with them.
It seems to me that there is a direct parallel between federal efforts in education and the manner in which the war in Iraq has been conducted. In education, our generals are being suppressed, told to get along or to get out, and teachers are not being provided the materials they need or the funding support that was promised. What’s more, relevant research is being withheld.
This country’s taxpayers constantly are being told how well the federal policies are performing, but all of us on the front lines know that we are losing the war in education because of misdirection from Washington.
Frank Ohnesorgen
Hanford, Calif.
